New York, Jan 6, 2026, 14:16 EST — Regular session
- Merck shares rose about 1% and earlier touched a 52-week high near $110
- Investors are weighing a U.S. shift toward fewer recommended childhood shots, including a move to a single-dose HPV schedule
- CEO Robert Davis and R&D chief Dean Li are due to speak at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 12
Merck & Co shares rose about 1.1% to $108.60 in afternoon trading on Tuesday and earlier hit a 52-week high of $110.16. The broader S&P 500 and the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund were also higher.
The stock has drawn fresh attention after Merck said CEO Robert M. Davis and Merck Research Laboratories chief Dean Y. Li will take part in a fireside chat at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 12. The annual gathering is a key early-year venue for drugmakers to frame pipeline priorities and set investor expectations. 1
Merck’s vaccine franchise is also in focus after the United States revised its childhood immunization schedule, dropping universal recommendations for flu and three other vaccines and shifting the human papillomavirus (HPV) shot to a single dose. Merck, which makes the Gardasil HPV vaccine, has said there is not sufficient data for the FDA to license a single-dose regimen and that CDC recommendations should align with the agency’s approval; the company recorded $2.4 billion of U.S. Gardasil sales in 2024. “If you can safely prevent it, it makes total sense,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman, a Georgetown University professor and former FDA chief scientist. 2
The 44th annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference runs Jan. 12-15 in San Francisco, a marquee stop on the healthcare calendar that often drives near-term positioning across large-cap pharma and biotech. 3
Merck’s rally has pushed the stock to the top of its 52-week range, with Investing.com showing a high of $110.17 and a low of $73.31. Investing.com data also lists Merck’s next earnings report on Feb. 3, a second catalyst investors are likely to use to test whether recent strength has outrun fundamentals. 4
In filings, director Christine E. Seidman reported disposing of 100 common shares on Dec. 31 and acquiring 77.1898 phantom stock units, a cash-settled award that tracks the share price under a deferred-compensation plan. Such small, routine insider transactions typically carry less weight than changes in company outlook, but they can draw trader scrutiny when a stock is near highs. 5
On the regulatory front, investors are also tracking an FDA target action date of Feb. 20 for Keytruda (pembrolizumab) in combination with chemotherapy, with or without bevacizumab, in platinum-resistant recurrent ovarian cancer, according to OncLive. PDUFA is the FDA’s user-fee deadline for acting on an application. 6
The risks run both ways. A one-dose HPV schedule could lift vaccination rates, but it could also cut doses per patient, and any mismatch between CDC guidance and FDA labeling could add friction for providers and payers. More broadly, a tougher tone on U.S. drug and vaccine policy would keep a lid on valuations for large drugmakers.
Next up is Merck’s Jan. 12 appearance at the J.P. Morgan conference, followed by the Feb. 3 earnings report and the Feb. 20 FDA deadline as the next concrete signposts for the stock.
